This invention relates to machines for making electrical leads comprising a length of wire having a terminal at one or both ends, and in particular to lead making machines which automatically measure the length of the wires and cut them to length, strip the ends, and attach terminals thereto, all in a continuous and high-speed fashion.
This type of machine has been commonly employed to cut desired lengths of insulated wire from a continuous supply and to remove a small portion of insulation from one or both ends of the wire so that a terminal may be attached to the wire or a soldering operation performed thereon. Machines of this type are particularly useful in rapidly cutting large numbers of wires to uniform desired lengths for use in wiring electric panels or other apparatus. Because of this usage, the speed and accuracy of operation of the wire cutting, stripping and terminating machine are primary considerations.
In the development and construction of such lead making machines, it has been found most advantageous to provide stationary cutting and stripping modules and to move the wire into position to be cut off, stripped and have the terminal attached. To a great extent, then, the speed and precision of the lead making machine depends upon the operation of the wire transport mechanism and the coordination of its operation with the operation of the cutting, stripping and terminating modules.
Examples of this type of machine are shown in Schwalm et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,679, Gudmestad, U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,428 and Hara, U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,433. In each of these patents is disclosed a machine for cutting wire to length and stripping one or both ends. The Schwalm patent goes on to describe as a part thereof the machine for attaching the terminals to the wire ends. The Gudmestad and Hara patents merely refer to the fact that a terminal attachment machine may be used to attach terminals to the cut-and-stripped wires which are the products of the disclosed machines.
This invention relates to improvements over the machines described above and to solutions to some of the problems raised thereby.